Gliding Vowels (Diphthongs)
In a gliding vowel, your mouth moves during the sound, as in English my or now. Luxembourgish writes seven common ones: ei, äi, éi, ou, au, ie and ue.
How It Works
- ei sounds like English eye: nei (new), Leit (people).
- äi starts on the a of cat and glides to i: Zäit (time), mäin (my), Äis (ice).
- éi starts on a short uh and glides to i: schéin (beautiful), béis (mean, cross), Kéier (time, turn).
- ou is close to the o in British English go: Schoul (school), Bouf (boy).
- au is close to English now: haut (today), Auto, Maus (mouse).
- ie starts on i and glides to uh: liesen (to read), bieden (to ask, to pray), hien (he).
- ue starts on u and glides to uh: Buedem (floor), lues (slow), Tuerm (tower).
Watch out for ie. In German, ie is a long i. In Luxembourgish it is always a glide: hatt liest (she reads) sounds like "lee-ust", not like German liest.
Spelling tip. Gliding vowels are always long, so the consonant after them is not doubled: Schoul, rout (red). The one exception is ss for a sharp s sound, as in Fouss (foot). Compare the rules in long and short vowels.
The word Moien (hello) looks like it has a glide, but it is really two syllables: Mo-ien.
Examples (6)
- Ech hu keng Zäit.
I don't have time.
Zäit has the glide äi.
- D'Schoul fänkt um aacht Auer un.
School starts at eight o'clock.
Schoul has ou, and Auer has au.
- De Bouf läit am Bett.
The boy is lying in bed.
Bouf has ou, and läit has äi.
- Mir liesen en neit Buch.
We're reading a new book.
liesen has the glide ie, and neit has ei.
- Dat ass e béisen Hond.
That's a nasty dog.
béisen has the glide éi.
- De Buedem ass naass.
The floor is wet.
Buedem has the glide ue.
Common Mistakes
Using the German spelling ei where Luxembourgish writes äi.
Ech hu keng Zeit.Ech hu keng Zäit.The word for time is Zäit. Its glide is written äi.
Writing éi without the accent.
D'Stad ass schein.D'Stad ass schéin.ei and éi are different sounds. Beautiful is schéin, with éi.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Gliding Vowels (Diphthongs), learn Long and Short Vowels.
Related Patterns
- e / ee / é / ë / äThe Many E Sounds: E, EE, É, Ë and Ä
Don't mix up é and ä with the glides éi and äi.
Level 1 - Two Sounds of chTwo CH Sounds
After some glides, ch has a soft sound, as in Nuecht.
Level 1 - The Luxembourgish Alphabet
Review the letters used to spell the glides.
Level 1 - moien / äddiHello and Goodbye: Moien and Äddi
Moien looks like a glide but has two syllables.
Level 1
Practice Gliding Vowels (Diphthongs) in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Luxembourgish lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
